Distributed Empirical Likelihood Inference With or Without Byzantine Failures

Empirical likelihood is a very important nonparametric approach which is of wide application. However, it is hard and even infeasible to calculate the empirical log-likelihood ratio statistic with massive data. The main challenge is the calculation of the Lagrange multiplier. This motivates us to develop a distributed empirical likelihood method by calculating the Lagrange multiplier in a multi-round distributed manner. It is shown that the distributed empirical log-likelihood ratio statistic is asymptotically standard chi-squared under some mild conditions. The proposed algorithm is communication-efficient and achieves the desired accuracy in a few rounds. Further, the distributed empirical likelihood method is extended to the case of Byzantine failures. A machine selection algorithm is developed to identify the worker machines without Byzantine failures such that the distributed empirical likelihood method can be applied. The proposed methods are evaluated by numerical simulations and illustrated with an analysis of airline on-time performance study and a surface climate analysis of Yangtze River Economic Belt

The discovery and characterization of AeHGO in the branching route from shikonin biosynthesis to shikonofuran in Arnebia euchroma

Shikonin derivatives are natural naphthoquinone compounds and the main bioactive components produced by several boraginaceous plants, such as Lithospermum erythrorhizon and Arnebia euchroma. Phytochemical studies utilizing both L. erythrorhizon and A. euchroma cultured cells indicate the existence of a competing route branching out from the shikonin biosynthetic pathway to shikonofuran. A previous study has shown that the branch point is the transformation from (Z)-3’’-hydroxy-geranylhydroquinone to an aldehyde intermediate (E)-3’’-oxo-geranylhydroquinone. However, the gene encoding the oxidoreductase that catalyzes the branch reaction remains unidentified. In this study, we discovered a candidate gene belonging to the cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase family, AeHGO, through coexpression analysis of transcriptome data sets of shikonin-proficient and shikonin-deficient cell lines of A. euchroma. In biochemical assays, purified AeHGO protein reversibly oxidized (Z)-3’’-hydroxy-geranylhydroquinone to produce (E)-3’’-oxo-geranylhydroquinone followed by reversibly reducing (E)-3’’-oxo-geranylhydroquinone to (E)-3’’-hydroxy-geranylhydroquinone, resulting in an equilibrium mixture of the three compounds. Time course analysis and kinetic parameters showed that the reduction of (E)-3’’-oxo-geranylhydroquinone was stereoselective and efficient in presence of NADPH, which determined that the overall reaction proceeded from (Z)-3’’-hydroxy-geranylhydroquinone to (E)-3’’-hydroxy-geranylhydroquinone. Considering that there is a competition between the accumulation of shikonin and shikonofuran derivatives in cultured plant cells, AeHGO is supposed to play an important role in the metabolic regulation of the shikonin biosynthetic pathway. Characterization of AeHGO should help expedite the development of metabolic engineering and synthetic biology toward production of shikonin derivatives

A combined association of obesity, alanine aminotransferase and creatinine with hyperuricemia in youth aged 13–20 years

BackgroundDespite extensive research on hyperuricemia (HUA) in adults, there remains a dearth of studies examining this condition in youth. Consequently, our objective was to investigate the prevalence of HUA among youth in the United States, as well as identify the corresponding risk factors.MethodsThis study employed a nationally representative subsample of 1,051 youth aged 13–20 from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) conducted between January 2017 and March 2020. Univariate and multivariate techniques were utilized to examine the association between HUA and obesity, dietary nutrients, liver and kidney function, glucose and lipid metabolism, inflammation, and other indicators in the adolescent population.ResultsThe study encompassed a cohort of 1,051 youth aged 13–20 years, comprising 538 boys and 513 girls. The overall prevalence of HUA was found to be 7% (74 out of 1,051). Univariate analysis revealed that the HUA group exhibited greater age, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC), and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). Additionally, the prevalence of obesity was significantly higher in the HUA group compared to the non- HUA group (all p < 0.05). Regarding biochemical indicators, the levels of urea nitrogen, creatinine (Cr), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), glutamic oxalic aminotransferase (AST), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), and HS C reactive protein (Hs CRP) were found to be significantly higher in the HUA group compared to the non-HUA group (all p < 0.05). Further analysis using binary logistics regression showed that BMI (p = 0.024, OR1.158, 95%CI1.019–1.316), ALT (p = 0.020, OR1.032, 95%CI1.005–1.059), and Cr (p = 0.016, OR1.028, 95%CI1.005–1.051) were identified as risk factors for HUA, after controlling for age, gender, BMI, WC, HC, WHR, ALT, AST, GGT, TG, TC, Cr, Hs CRP, and other indicators. Interestingly, neither univariate nor multivariate analysis found any association between dietary nutrients and the risk of HUA (all p > 0.05).ConclusionHigh BMI remains a major risk factor for HUA in US youth aged 13–20 years, and ALT and Cr levels should be closely monitored along with serum uric acid

A Visual Measurement of Water Content of Crude Oil Based on Image Grayscale Accumulated Value Difference

In the process of oil exploitation, the water level of an oil well can be predicted and the position of reservoir can be estimated by measuring the water content of crude oil, with reference for the automatic production of high efficiency in the oil field. In this paper, a visual measuring method for water content of crude oil is proposed. The oil and water in crude oil samples were separated by centrifugation, distillation or electric dehydration, and a water–oil layered mixture was formed according to the unequal densities. Then the volume ratio of water and oil was analyzed by digital image processing, and the water content and oil content was able to be calculated. A new method for measuring water content of crude oil based on IGAVD (image grayscale accumulated value difference) is proposed, which overcomes the uncertainty caused by environmental illumination and improves the measurement accuracy. In order to verify the effectiveness of the algorithm, a miniaturization and low-cost system prototype was developed. The experimental results show that the average power consumption is about 165 mW and the measuring error is less than 1.0%. At the same time, the real-time and remote transmission about measurement results can be realized

CARNet: Context-Aware Residual Learning for JPEG-LS Compressed Remote Sensing Image Restoration

JPEG-LS (a lossless (LS) compression standard developed by the Joint Photographic Expert Group) compressed image restoration is a significant problem in remote sensing applications. It faces the following two challenges: first, bridging small pixel-value gaps from wide numerical ranges; and second, removing banding artifacts in the condition of lacking available context information. As far as we know, there is currently no research dealing with the above issues. Hence, we develop this initial line of work on JPEG-LS compressed remote sensing image restoration. We propose a novel CNN model called CARNet. Its core idea is a context-aware residual learning mechanism. Specifically, it realizes residual learning for accurate restoration by adopting a scale-invariant baseline. It enables large receptive fields for banding artifact removal through a context-aware scheme. Additionally, it eases the information flow among stages by utilizing a prior-guided feature-fusion mechanism. Alternatively, we design novel R IQA models to provide a better restoration performance assessment for our study by utilizing gradient priors of JPEG-LS banding artifacts. Furthermore, we prepare a new dataset of JPEG-LS compressed remote sensing images to supplement existing benchmark data. Experiments show that our method sets the state-of-the-art for JPEG-LS compressed remote sensing image restoration

Hip circumference has independent association with the risk of hyperuricemia in middle-aged but not in older male patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Abstract Background Obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are risk factors for hyperuricemia. However, which anthropometric indices can better predict incident hyperuricemia in patients with T2DM remains inconsistent. This study aimed to examine the associations between hyperuricemia and different anthropometric indices in middle-aged and older male patients with T2DM. Methods In this retrospective study, a total of 1447 middle-aged (45—65 years, n = 791) and older (≥ 65 years, n = 656) male patients with T2DM were collected from December 2015 to January 2020 at Shanghai Xinhua Hospital. Hyperuricemia was defined as a serum uric acid level above 7.0 mg/dL. Weight, height, waist circumference (WC) and hip circumference (HC) were measured by trained nurses at visit. Results The median uric acid level of subjects was 5.6 (interquartile ranges: 4.7—6.7) mg/dl, and 279 (19.3%) were hyperuricemia, with 146 (18.5%) in the middle-aged group, and 133 (20.3%) in the older group. After adjusting for age, duration of T2DM, fasting plasma glucose and insulin, homeostasis model assessment-β, aspartate aminotransferase, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and estimated glomerular filtration rate, body mass index (BMI), WC, HC, and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) were associated with a higher risk of hyperuricemia in both middle-aged and older group (P < 0.05). After further adjusting for BMI and WC, HC still showed a positive relationship with the risk of hyperuricemia (Odds Ratio = 1.51, 95% confidence intervals: 1.06—2.14) in the middle-aged group, but such relationship was not found in the older group. Moreover, according to receiver operating characteristic analysis, the optimal cutoff value was 101.3 cm of HC for hyperuricemia screening in the middle-aged male patients with T2DM. Conclusion In middle-aged male patients with T2DM, more attention should be paid to HC with the cutoff value of 101.3 cm in clinical practice for early recognition of individuals with a high risk of hyperuricemia for targeted guidance on disease prevention, such as community screening

Reactive Oxygen Species Regulate Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress and ER-Mitochondrial Ca2+ Crosstalk to Promote Programmed Necrosis of Rat Nucleus Pulposus Cells under Compression

Programmed necrosis of nucleus pulposus (NP) cells caused by excessive compression is a crucial factor in the etiopathogenesis of intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD). The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and mitochondria are crucial regulators of the cell death signaling pathway, and their involvement in IVDD has been reported. However, the specific role of ER stress (ERS) and ER-mitochondria interaction in compression-induced programmed necrosis of NP cells remains unknown. Our studies revealed that compression enhanced ERS and the association between ER and mitochondria in NP cells. Suppression of ERS via 4-phenylbutyrate (4-PBA) or ER-mitochondrial Ca2+ crosstalk by inhibiting the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor, glucose-regulated protein 75, voltage-dependent anion-selective channel 1 complex (IP3R–GRP75–VDAC1 complex) protected NP cells against programmed necrosis related to the poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) pathway. Moreover, excessive reactive oxygen species are critical activators of ERS, leading to mitochondrial Ca2+ accumulation and consequent programmed necrosis. These data indicate that ERS and ER-mitochondrial Ca2+ crosstalk may be potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of IVDD-associated disorders. These findings provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying IVDD and may provide novel therapeutic targets

Decellularized Disc Hydrogels for hBMSCs tissue-specific differentiation and tissue regeneration

Tissue specificity, a key factor in the decellularized tissue matrix (DTM), has shown bioactive functionalities in tuning cell fate—e.g., the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells. Notably, cell fate is also determined by the living microenvironment, including material composition and spatial characteristics. Herein, two neighboring tissues within intervertebral discs, the nucleus pulposus (NP) and annulus fibrosus (AF), were carefully processed into DTM hydrogels (abbreviated DNP-G and DAF-G, respectively) to determine the tissue-specific effects on stem cell fate, such as specific components and different culturing methods, as well as in vivo regeneration. Distinct differences in their protein compositions were identified by proteomic analysis. Interestingly, the fate of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs) also responds to both culturing methods and composition. Generally, hBMSCs cultured with DNP-G (3D) differentiated into NP-like cells, while hBMSCs cultured with DAF-G (2D) underwent AF-like differentiation, indicating a close correlation with the native microenvironments of NP and AF cells, respectively. Furthermore, we found that the integrin-mediated RhoA/LATS/YAP1 signaling pathway was activated in DAF-G (2D)-induced AF-specific differentiation. Additionally, the activation of YAP1 determined the tendency of NP- or AF-specific differentiation and played opposite regulatory effects. Finally, DNP-G and DAF-G specifically promoted tissue regeneration in NP degeneration and AF defect rat models, respectively. In conclusion, DNP-G and DAF-G can specifically determine the fate of stem cells through the integrin-mediated RhoA/LATS/YAP1 signaling pathway, and this tissue specificity is both compositional and spatial, supporting the utilization of tissue-specific DTM in advanced treatments of intervertebral disc degeneration